Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park

These sanctuaries jointly form the largest contiguous wildlife protected area in the state covering 240 square km.The dense vegetation provides ample cover to wildlife animals like the magnificent gaur, deer, wildboar and many more.

Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary

One of the most popular sanctuaries is the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary. Though small in size, it boasts of a mini zoo, deer safari park, botanical garden and even eco-tourism cottages.Bondla is a paradise for the lovers of eco-tourism. Spend late evenings and nights here for an unforgettable experience. You will feel exhilaration and an uplifting of the spirits. The region is covered with moist deciduous forests with evergreens and canes alongside. Besides the state animal Gaur, the frequently sighted are the panther, leopard, deer, porcupine, ant eater and many other animals.

Cortigao Wildlife Sanctuary

Cortigao Wildlife Sanctuary is representative of the eco-system in the Western Ghats region. Some of the tallest trees in the sanctuaries are found here going up to 30 metres.Nearly 200 species of birds have made their home here and they include the Pied Hornbill, Golden Backed Woodpecker and the Great Indian Woodpecker.

Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary

Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is a treat for all bird -lovers. Located along the river Mandovi it has a dense vegetation of 14 different species of mangoes. During the winter months between November and January migratory birds flock in thousands to feed on the banks of the river at the sanctuary. It is a delight to watch and observe them in their full regalia. Watch towers there provide a truly bird's view of the region in full bloom. A boat ride in the backwaters in the early misty morning can create magic. This is when man is at peace with nature.

There is so much more to explore and discover in wildlife Goa. One can spend the rest of one's life doing just that and still be amazed at the constantly emerging new findings and excitement levels.

After disembarking the Konkan Express from Mumbai at Margao in South Goa, get a prepaid taxi from right outside the station and head for Margao Residency, a better than budget hostel/hotel in the centre of Margao. The hostel has a selection of dorm or private rooms and will cost you between 800 - 1200 rupees depending on the season. They provide a laundry, internet, shop, and restaurant within the hostel as well as restaurant within walking distance nearby. Margao is the unofficial capital of South Goa and is situated so that all major amenities are reachable in a very limited time.

Tip: South Goa is the quieter area of Goa and so good for families, older travellers, or people looking for a more relaxed atmosphere.

12pm

Head right across the road for a late breakfast at Longuino's. They have a great selection of food on their menu including Indian, Chinese, and European dishes and a number of dishes have a strong Portuguese flavour to them as the Portuguese were the first colonisers of this area. Your first Kingfisher of the day wouldn't go astray either as you have just come off a long overnight train journey.

1pm

Grab an auto-rickshaw and head 5mins out of town to Colva Beach where your first taste of sun, surf and sand can be experienced. Everything "beachy" is situated here including fantastically warm surf, lazy beach shack restaurants with menus to make your mouth water, and budget surf shops for your well deserved shopping fix.

Tip: As with most of the beaches in the state of Goa, if you are there in the quiet period of the year (July-August), the fisherman will have been out for their catch and any fish that are not wanted are just thrown over the side, making swimming a little unpleasant. You will also find that some of the beach restaurants will be closed until the busy season (November-January).

2pm

Grab a taxi and ask the driver to take you the spice plantation in the town of Savoi Verum which is 10km north of the City of Ponda and about a half hour taxi ride from Margao. Here you will experience a traditional Indian welcome, lunch, a tour of the plantation including explanations of the cashew fruit, vanilla, and other spices, and an Indian Elephant experience. You will be expected to pay a fee to tour the plantation which is around 500 rupees and they almost expect you to buy some sort of herbal remedy at the conclusion of the tour.

4pm

Using your same taxi and driver, head for Old Goa to experience the religious sector including visiting the numerous old churches and the body of St Francis Xavier whose remains are almost perfectly preserved for your viewing pleasure. Once you've paid your respects, head into the Old Goa Museum and experience the history of the Portuguese colonialists and the founding of the state of Goa.

Tip: Touts, beggars, pick-pockets and sellers are in abundance in Old Goa so if that's your cup of tea, bring lots of cash for plenty of souvenirs and make sure your personal belongings are secure.

7pm

Get your driver to drop you off at Bogmalo Beach in the north part of South Goa. This beach is very quiet and serene and a great place to just relax. Head for one of a number of beach restaurants and order Goan sausage with a Cashew Feni (strong cashew flavoured nip) to wash it down. Then cleanse your body in the tropical waters after dinner before making your way back to Margao.

Tip: Payment for your taxi driver for the afternoon may be a bit of trial and error. You will most likely find that he will ask you to name a price for him. Think about other trips you've taken in India and compare it with the distance you have been and then depending on your service, give him a decent tip also. Remember, he has given up other fares for the afternoon to guide you around the state. 1500 - 2000 rupees plus a tip would probably be sufficient.

9pm

Take your well deserved beauty sleep for the night at Margao Residency and prepare for another hectic day tomorrow.

Tip: If a night-cap is needed before hitting the hay, pick yourself up a bottle or two of the famous Goan Port (fortified wine). This can be found at one of a bunch of liquor stores in Margao and is well worth your while.

6am

After an early morning wake up call, head upstairs to Margao Residency's hotel restaurant Preethi Classic, which serves pretty decent coffee for India and great milky, sugary tea.

7am

Take your pick of one of many cabs right outside the hotel doors and make your way to the exciting, exhilarating North Goa beach of Anjuna. Here you will find arguably the best beach in the state of Goa. Again, beach restaurants and sun, surf and sand are in abundance and if you're looking for a pretty well designed henna tattoo, this is your place. Plenty of stalls have been erected for your shopping pleasure and be sure not to miss the world famous Anjuna Markets which run in the high season usually only on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Here you can find the real Indian shopping experience with fruits and vegetables, clothing, jewellery and all sorts of Goan treasures at your disposal.

Tip: On your trip up from Margao, keep a close eye out for elephants which can be seen from the roadside, usually with their owners, completing tasks as if you were living a century ago.

Tip: Accommodation in Anjuna is very easy to find with plenty of places on or in the vicinity of, the spectacular and relaxing beach.

Tip: The night life in and around Anjuna is fantastic with plenty of clubs, pubs and beach parties to satisfy your soul and arouse your senses.

There are plenty of other places to visit in the state of Goa which have not been mentioned because you wouldn't be able to fit it all into 24 hours which is what this article is based around. Some other things you might like to see or do on your trip could be:

• Hire a scooter and guide yourself around the state. These are pretty cheap to hire for a day, around 300 rupees, and can be organised at your hotel. However, fairly easily to get lost and the roads rules don't seem to apply in India at times remember.
• Visit Panjim, the capital city of the state of Goa. Here you can take an entertaining cruise on the river and it's a great place to replenish your cash money as it's one of the only places in Goa with a Thomas Cook money exchange.
• Visit Calangute Beach which is the other hot spot beach in Northern Goa. Like Anjuna, it's where a lot of the Goan action happens. Don't miss it.

For more information and experiences on Goa, have a fascinating read of Rask Balavoine's piece A Different Goa or Krish's piece Unforgettable Trip to Goa.

Peace.

I chose to go by bus. I'd arrived in November on a boat; I was going to be doing a lot of train travel so I opted for bus. It was scheduled to leave at 3 pm, in the heat of a scalding afternoon, but as I waited with the other passengers in what shade we could find near Panjim bus stop, 3 pm soon became 4 pm. Then at 5 pm I knew that the real-time departure was imminent because lots of restless men got up to pee quite earnestly against the bus, against the walls of a shop and up against the few trees that lined the road out of town.

It took quite a while to load the bus. My bag along with a lot of other stuff had to go on top. We all tried to be the first to get on and I lost out to the women. I was fortunate to get a window seat, though the seat itself was no more than wooden slats with a plastic backrest. I was towards the back of the bus, above the rear wheels, not the best seat.

It was good to be at a window though, for the sake of fresh air, but also so that I could buy food without having to forsake my seat, and I stocked up with smoosas and pakhoras to see me through the long night, bartering with young boys through the window.

Out along the road I got to see places trains never went. We came eventually to a river just as dusk was falling but there was no bridge and the bus with its full compliment of people, animals and luggage drove onto a makeshift raft which was pulled to the other bank by water buffalo. Most people got off to walk about the edges of the raft and it wasn't till I joined them that I realised the angle of tilt that we were sitting at. No-one else seemed to be in the least bit concerned that the slightest ripple in the water would tip us all in.

On into the night I had to close the window I was beside to keep out the terribly cold air. We stopped quite late at a village where I bought coconut milk and biscuits, and as we started off again I was attacked by waves of murderous nausea. I concentrated hard, fixing my gaze on the light above the driver's head and managed somehow to stave off the compulsion to vomit.

Unfortunately the man in the seat behind me didn't try as hard as I did, and he vomited quite comprehensively down the back of my neck. The warm slime slithered down my shirt, on down my back, and squashed in between the side of the bus and a hefty, bearded and slumbering Giant Haystacks of a man there was no action I could take.

My clothes were on top of the bus; I had nothing even to wipe my neck with, and as the cold night air took its toll on the vomit I ended up stuck to the plastic covering that was nailed down over the seat's backrest.

I sat another five hours like that, thankful only for the fact that the stench of vomit didn't travel round to my face but seemed to stay firmly behind me where it belonged.

At length Bombay appeared under the wheels of the bus, but no apology ever came from the man behind. When I got off and found my bag I looked around for a café to sit in, to stretch my legs in and to eat in. Even at that very early hour plenty of shops were already open, and I found what I was looking for.

I soon settled myself at a table and sat dazed for a while, not minding that no-one had come to serve me. A man came out of a door in the back and looked over at me. I caught his eye and he smiled and retreated. He came back with some others and they all stared for a while, smiling, then disappeared. Things seemed a bit weird, and I soon noticed a strange smell in the café that reminded me of my grandfather's workshop.

Soon it all came together. This was no café, it was a furniture store, with the tables and chairs all set out not to eat at, but for sale.

So no breakfast yet, but at least I got to stretch my legs.

I found a hotel. Vik, the man I presume owned the place assured me of a hot shower in my room which sounded too good to be true and it was. There was a shower but it was communal, in an alcove just along the corridor. In fact to call it a shower was just a bit misleading; it was a tap set about three feet off the floor.

I didn't care. It didn't matter at that point who was walking along the corridor past the uncurtained “shower” cubicle because I was still covered in stinking, hardened vomit. Leaving my clothes in my room and taking a towel with me I crouched under the tap to soak myself. Needless to say the water was freezing cold. Needless to say I was past caring. Once I was properly soaked all over I stood up and turned the tap off so that the water would stop running down the sloping corridor into my room as it had begun to, and I got to work with soap and finger nails.

It was so good to shift all that stale vomit. I even rubbed my back up and down the rough wall to dislodge the bits I couldn't reach, and still people kept passing by along the corridor, some stopping to look, some to chat. So what.

Soon it became time to rinse away the foul, soapy scum that was decorating my body. Squatting down I turned the tap on again hoping to be quick enough not to flood my room too severely, but no water came out. I kicked the pipe, turned the tap in all directions and expressed my frustration to two men standing talking in a doorway down the hall. They suggested no solution to the problem, didn't even offer to get Vik for me. That was okay though because from what I had already gleaned about Vik I didn't really want him seeing me in the shower, offering to hose me down. There was not much I could do, and I began to feel incredibly foolish standing in the hallway clad only in the soapy remains of someone else's dinner. All I could do was lift my towel and head back to my room to dry myself and put clean clothes on a very unclean body.

The vessel was old but seaworthy. It sailed out of what was Bombay in those days and took a leisurely 24 hours to make its way to Panjim where it tied up for the day before heading back north.

The passage was cheap no matter which class you chose but there was really only one, especially if funds were tight. Getting on board was the usual tussle, all elbows and knees, babies being surfed over the heads of everyone else along with goats and chickens and nondescript packages that wriggled.

I was travelling in November with little chance of rain but it wouldn't have matter if a storm had lashed down. I claimed my space on the deck on the port side so I could see the coast all the way. With my Gulmarg blanket spread out on the damp planks I built a low partition with my possessions between myself and the open sea as a windbreak. My possessions were meagre, but so fortunately was the wind, even at night when we were far from the warm influence of the land. There was a family camped beside me: father, mother and two children, all spread out on a blanket the same size as mine. They also had a chicken which lay with its legs trussed, accommodatingly quiet for the entire trip.

The boat pushed off and started to rise and fall as it left the shelter of the harbor and headed out into the open Arabian Sea. I love traveling by boat. I don't mind bad weather, I enjoy storms, but this was no more than a slight swell with a gentle sun falling down to bless us.

Towards evening my thoughts turned to food. I'd brought water with me but that was all. For the first time I took a good look at my ticket and realized that a meal was included in the cost and I headed to where everyone else seemed to be heading and found a large dining hall set out much like a school refectory.

Dinner was rice and fish. The man in the queue in front of me got the jackpot - a fish head, and he was well pleased. It was a substantial enough meal but could have done with a bit more flavor, maybe a vegetable or two in the fish stew. But I enjoyed it.

I lay all night on the deck, under the clearest sky I had seen since a trip across the Indian Ocean when I was so far from land. The stars were spectacular and I could see that they were not just stuck onto a black background, but that they were actually suspended in space. The other passengers quietened down and fell into slept: the two children beside me had slept from very early, exhausted from the excitement of the journey. Their parents spoke no English; no-one seemed to.

At some remote hour during that magnificent night the boat slowed and dropped anchor off the coast, some way from a small town whose few lights twinkled in the distance like low-hung stars. A small motor boat chugged out through the shallows bringing a few more passengers and parcels. They boarded with not much noise and the boat sailed on.

At dawn we were closer than I expected to the shore. The Western Ghats rose out of the misty surface of the water and the smoke from the funnel left a faint graying smudge against the colorless, cloudless, sky. For the first time I felt the air as something cold. I lifted the blanket from the deck and wrapped it around my shoulders and watched Goa come into view.

I took a room in a house in Calangute, not that far from Mapusa (or Mapça, whichever is in vogue now). There was a cluster of mud-walled, thatch-roofed houses sitting together in a palm grove that gave onto the beach. No electricity, no running water. An idyll. The family was most proud of one facility they had installed recently for the comfort of western travellers - there were no holiday-makers back then - they had installed a toilet. Pure, gleaming white porcelain it was, sitting like a throne on a raised mound of hard earth behind the house with a straw fence around for privacy. Never yet been used.

I think the family were a bit annoyed that I chose to use their own original arrangements on the first day - a hole in the ground secreted in a less conspicuous corner of the yard and screened off by a mud wall. I knew that as soon as I would have sat on the porcelain a crowd would have gathered to peer through the generous gaps in the fence to catch a glimpse of … well we get the picture, and it wouldn't have been a pretty one.

That night however I decided to ingratiate myself with my landlord so I ventured out to use his toilet. By then I knew that all the children were asleep and that no-one would have eyesight good enough to be able to penetrate the darkness well enough to see much. So off I went.

I took a torch, the one luxury item I allowed myself when travelling. I took my little jar of water as well, having forgone the luxury of paper.

My fear was snakes, and I intended turning the torch off once I had found my way to the toilet. Inside I shone the beam all round the walls and floor making sure no reptile was lurking. Then I turned the light into the toilet bowl itself just to be certain, and resting just where I would have expected water, was a large pink and black wet living thing. It moved. I moved. It wasn't a snake.

Round the back of the hut I found an enormous water buffalo, its tongue stuck into the open pipe leading from the toilet

The arrangements where that everything deposited in the porcelain bowl would slither on out the back of the hut into an open drain, which in turn led on into a stream that flowed into the sea. Problem was the buffalo had got there first.

Now I don't know how far a buffalo's tongue can reach, but I wasn't risking lowering my butt onto that seat.

Goa is a great place for entertainment. Seven major beaches, historical monuments and mouth-watering food may be some of the enjoyable experience. Exotic hotels can provide you comfortable accommodation with delicious food.

People from UK, USA, Australia stay for 4 - 6 months and spend their time lively with families and friends.

Surrounded by breathtaking natural environment, people relax in sea shore with cool atmosphere.

There are four widely used languages in Goa: English, Konkani, Marathi & Hindi. English is the language of business and is widely spoken and understood. Christian people speak and write English language.

You will really enjoy the exotic beaches with mind-boggling entertainments. So, you will never forget the enchanting trip to Goa, especially beautiful beaches. People relax coolly with pleasurable experience It can also be called lovers' paradise as they enjoy the natural atmosphere with immense pleasure.

One can't forget to recall historic places of historical importance. Mouth-watering food in restaurants invites visitors to fulfill their tastes. Different varieties according to the needs of people are available.

Miles upon miles of golden beaches, mango groves, padi fields and white-washed villas and churches. These are just some of the images which combine to make Goa the ‘pearl of the Orient’.

Lush and verdant, half the land is devoted to cashews and coconuts and practically every garden has its share of papaya, jackfruit and banana trees.

Goa boasts a distinct culture due to 451 years of Portuguese rule (until 1961) – a unique blend of Indian and Portuguese, which is evident in the food, architecture and even the colourful dress.

Today’s stressed-out tourists looking to rejuvenate themselves physically and mentally are travelling across the globe to Goa’s Ayurvedic health spas to unwind from the pressures of life. But the latest trend in spa treatments is, in fact, nothing new.

India’s ancient healing system

Ayurveda, the science of life – and India’s oldest holistic healing system – goes back some 5,000 years. It works by restoring balance via herbs, yoga, massage and a healthy lifestyle.

My weekend destressing programme began with an outdoor yoga and meditation session on an islet of lush greenery and inland rivers, a ferry-ride from Old Goa.

Lying on a wooden bed I received my ‘Shirodhara’ treatment, which involved a steady stream of warm herbal oil being poured on my forehead through an earthen vessel. It felt utterly luxurious, calming and nurturing and was rounded off with a gentle head and shoulder massage.

Afterward the wonderful treatment I enjoyed an Indian meal prepared with local spices and served thali-style with mint chutney, papadams, pickles and raita.

Regular Ayurvedic treatments like this help nourish the hair, enhance circulation and general well-being. Not surprisingly, I slept like a baby that night!